Yes, this is a labor of love. It takes a while to thinly slice all the apricots, but the result is absolutely worth the effort. When I have lots of chopping or prep to do, I listen to a podcast, something inspirational along the lines of How I Built This, or a good audiobook or blast some James Brown at full volume while I slice away and in no time at all the fruit are sliced, and I had fun doing it. As with the other stone fruit desserts, you can, by all means, substitute peaches or nectarines for the apricots, but make sure you make the crunchy nut layer between the fruit and the tart shell. It makes the dish!
“Sunflower” Apricot Tart
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 9 ounces all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 5 ½ ounces butter, cold, cut up into small pieces
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- Pinch of salt
FOR THE FILLING
- ½ cup pistachios
- ½ cup almonds, sliced
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 3 tablespoons apricot jam
- 14-16 apricots, halved, pitted, and thinly sliced
Instructions
- Butter a round 10- or 11-inch fluted tart pan and set aside.
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Use repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough has formed a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place the unwrapped dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a disk that is 1 inch larger than the size of your mold and ¼ inch thick. Line the tart pan with the dough. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and then prick the dough in the bottom of the tart pan with the tines of a fork. Wrap up the remaining dough for another use.
- Cover the tart shell with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes. The edges should be a pale golden color. Take the tart shell from the oven and remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
- While the tart shell is baking, prepare the nut crunch base. Place the pistachios, almonds, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a heavy-bottomed skillet placed over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sugar will melt, and the mixture will be sticky. Remove from the heat, let cool completely, then roughly chop the nuts.
- Brush the baked tart shell with the apricot jam, then sprinkle the nut crunch mixture over the jam. Starting at the outer edge and working toward the middle, arrange the apricot slices in slightly overlapping concentric circles to cover the nut crunch layer. The apricots will form a pattern that looks like an open flower. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the apricots. If you have a blow torch, pass it lightly over the fruit, caramelizing the apricots. If not, place the tart under the broiler on the middle rack in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Serve with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
